Chosen

by Sarah Swan

  “That’s Ann and Jo on the left,” Liz told me over her shoulder, “and Eve, Madison, and Zoe on the other side. Don’t worry if you can’t keep up. You’ll get to know all of them sooner or later.”

  As soon as we came close enough to be noticed, one of the girls – Madison, I thought, though it may have been Zoe or Eve – noticed us and quickly said something to the rest of the table. Then, next thing I knew, Liz and I were being swarmed by all of them at once.

  “Liz, there you are!” one of them said enthusiastically. “We’ve been waiting all morning!”

  “It’s so good to see you!” another one of them cried out, drawing Liz in for a hug. “I missed you over the summer!”

  “Oh my god! You won’t believe what happened to Zoe,” a third one said, shooting a glance at the first girl who spoke. I assumed that one had been Zoe. “She met a guy, and fell in love, and it all ended in heartbreak – all in the span of three weeks!”

  “Is that so?” Liz asked quizzically. Zoe shot an evil glance at the third girl who spoke, but nodded her head. “I’m so over it by now. But it was an exciting time.”

  “And who’s this?” one of the two girls who hadn’t yet spoken asked, looking at me. Her blond hair was cut a touch shorter than Liz’s. Other than that, the two girls might have been twins.

  “My name’s Tracy,” I said, smiling at her. “I met Liz this morning, and she invited me to come meet you guys.”

  “Oh, so you’re the newbie,” Zoe said, smiling at me warmly. “I’m Zoe, Liz’s roommate.” She offered me her hand, and I took it in a firm shake. Zoe had brown hair a few shades lighter than mine, and a delicate face that made her look almost like a porcelain doll. But there was a spark in her eyes that said she was anything but.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, then glanced at Liz. “I didn’t know you had a roommate!”

  “What? You didn’t tell her about me?” Zoe teased, jabbing Liz in the ribs. Liz gasped, looking superficially admonished, then laughed and tried to hit Zoe back. Zoe dodged her efforts easily. “I’m not really her roommate,” she admitted. “But I spend so much time in her room I might as well be.”

  “I’m Madison,” the blonde girl who could have been Liz’s twin said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too,” I answered, shaking her hand. She flashed a smile that revealed perfect, white teeth.

  “Come on! Come sit down,” Madison said, pulling me to the table. “You’ve got to tell us everything about yourself!”

  “Where do I begin?” I laughed. “We haven’t even got through all the introductions yet!”

  “Well, my name’s Eve,” a dark-haired girl said as she sat down beside me. Her hair was cut short like a boy’s, and she had a small tattoo running down the side of her neck. But, with her thick lashes and delicate face, there was no way anyone would mistake her for one. “How’d you meet Liz?”

  “Actually, she—”

  “I ran into Tracy this morning,” Liz butted in as she sat down, “looking totally lost and clueless. She needed help just getting to her room.”

  “Not true!” I protested, and Liz laughed.

  “Fine,” she admitted, “I actually had to introduce myself to her this morning. You know, student council duties.”

  “Oh. So it’s all a sham?” I asked in mock indignation.

  “Totally,” Liz replied with a gleam in her eye. “Our entire friendship is built on a lie.”

  “You didn’t have to be so obvious about it,” I laughed.

  “No! But she’s cool,” Liz said to her friends. “You know how I was worried the new kid would be a total weirdo?” The question was met with nods around the table. “Well, Tracy’s anything but. I’ve got a good feeling about her.”

  “Me too,” Eve said beside me. “She seems… normal.” She flashed a smile.

  “Oh!” Liz exclaimed suddenly. “How rude of me – I haven’t introduced you to Ann or Jo yet.”

  The two girls who had just sat down beside Liz both smiled at me.

  “I’m Jo,” the one on the left said. She had fiery red hair and pale skin, but a very self-assured manner. She seemed to be the most composed one of the group.

  “And my name is Ann,” the girl to Liz’s right said. She extended her hand across the table, and I shook it. Ann had straw colored hair, but other than that had no particularly defining characteristic or striking features. In fact, she seemed to be the most reserved and shy one of the girls.

  “Nice to meet you both,” I said in turn. The introductions had all flown so quickly that I doubted I’d be able to remember most of the girls’ names the first time around. But, if I was going to be hanging out with them, I was sure I’d pick them up quickly.

  “So, where are you from?” Madison asked. “And how did you end up here?”

  “Long story,” I replied. “Do you want the short version, or the long version?”

  “I’ve already heard it,” Liz said, “so go for the quick one. It should be good enough for now.”

  “All right. I’m from a small town you’ve probably never heard of in Washington state. It’s called Somerville. The population is less than two thousand people, and we’re so far out in the mountains that most people don’t even know we exist. The only contact we get with the outside world, really, comes from truckers bringing up groceries and supplies for the stores. As for coming here? Well, I heard of the school one day, and thought that it would be a great place to come to before applying to college. So, I sent in my admission app, and the rest is history.”

  “Tell them about your dad,” Liz instructed in a stage whisper.

  “My dad? What about him?”

  “Tell them why you wanted to come here,” Liz replied.

  “Oh.” I didn’t want to seem a braggart, and was a little uncomfortable telling them about my dad’s alma mater already.

  “Go on,” Liz urged.

  “Oh, all right. The reason I wanted to come here, originally, was because of my dad. You see, he went to a really good college back in the day—”

  “He went to Harvard,” Liz piped in, looking around the table with raised eyebrows.

  “Right,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed. But, apparently, the name had an effect on the other girls. Instantly, they started looking at me with a new respect. “Anyway, that’s where he went, and I… kind of wanted to try to get into a similar school. But, I knew I couldn’t do it from a no-name high school on the west coast. That’s why I’m now at Oliver.”

  “Is that really true?” Eve asked at my elbow. “I’ve always heard of kids wanting to go to Harvard, but never of anyone who’s had relatives who went there.”

  “Yeah,” I said. This wasn’t really what I wanted to talk about, and looked for a way to change the course of conversation. Luckily, just then I saw my way out. At the other end of the cafeteria, I noticed Chris standing alone, glaring at our table. We made eye contact briefly, and immediately he turned away.

  “Excuse me for a second,” I said, pushing myself up from the table quickly, “I just saw a friend…”

  I walked around the table, keeping my eyes on Chris’s dark hoody as he stalked away. Suddenly, a hand on my upper arm stopped me in my tracks. I looked over, and saw Liz holding me.

  “Is your friend Chris?” she asked, pulling me back. She put a shocking amount of vehemence in the name.

  “Yes,” I answered quickly. He was quickly getting away, and I was afraid I’d lose him in the crowd. “How’d you know?”

  She made a face. “Oh Tracy, you don’t want to be seen talking to him,” she said in disgust.

  “What? Why?” I asked, confused.

  “Trust me on this one. You’re new here. So, I’ll give you a pass this time, but just between us…” she moved closer to whisper in my ear, “…he’s not somebody you want to be associated with. Ever!”

  “What are you talking about…?” I began, trying to pull away. I wanted to make my own decisions about my friends, not be told by
someone I just met – and barely knew! – who I could talk to. I looked back at Chris. But, he was already lost in the crowd. Why had he run away like that? I turned back to the table.

  “Good choice,” Liz said. “You’ll fit in with us in no time.”

  Chapter Seven – A New Meeting

  “Who was your friend?” Madison asked as I sat down. I started to answer, but Liz gave me such a strong look that I had to change what I was going to say.

  “Nobody,” I admitted, shaking my head. “I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was mistaken.”

  “Oh,” Madison said. Liz gave me a tight, approving smile. I didn’t like the way she seemed to think I needed her approval. But, at the same time, I knew that I had to tread carefully if I wanted to become part of her circle of friends. Whether I really wanted that or not, I wasn’t sure yet. I didn’t want to preclude myself from the possibility by a few rash, ill thought out decisions.

  “Oh my god, Liz! Look who it is!” Eve exclaimed excitedly. Too excitedly. She pointed with one finger to a crowd of kids behind Liz, who spun around in her chair quickly.

  “No, no! Don’t look!” Eve warned her quickly, and Liz turned back. “It’s R-O-B,” she mouthed.

  “Oh!” Liz exclaimed. For the first time since I’ve known her, she looked flustered. Instinctively, she started stroking a hand through her hair. “How do I look?” she asked eagerly, and with a touch of anxiety. “How’s my hair? My makeup? Oh my god, I haven’t seen him since last year!” she gushed.

  “Liz,” Madison said reassuringly, taking her hand, “you look fine. Just take a deep breath, and try to stay calm.”

  “Calm. Right. Calm. Oh my god! Do you think he saw me?”

  “Why else would he be coming over?” Zoe said with that twinkle in her eye. Liz snuck a peek back, squawked, and jumped back around.

  All the while, I was trying to figure out just who the girls were so excited about. There were other guys everywhere. I couldn’t pick anyone out who seemed to be walking toward us. Somebody named Rob? I frowned. There were literally hundreds of guys all around us, and at least the same number of girls. The cafeteria was large. But the influx of students for breakfast had it filled completely to the brim.

  “Liz,” a strong voice said. It took me a second to find its owner. But when I did, I could see why the girls were so excited.

  Standing at the side of the table, off to my left, was one of the most impressive guys I had ever seen. He was tall – six-foot-two or -three, at least. He wore a tight, black turtleneck that, on anybody else, would have looked completely nerdy. But on him, it looked fabulous – because it showed off his body. Every inch of him was pure muscle. His body had the most beautiful shape I had ever seen. His chest stood out and his arms were strong and lean. His entire torso was shaped like a perfect “V”. A trim waist built up to impressive shoulders. The sleeves of his sweater were rolled halfway up his forearms to reveal perfectly striated muscle fibers that danced as he rolled his wrists. His soot-black hair emphasized his dark facial features, which stood out under the cafeteria lights.

  Liz turned around slowly, dignified enough to be a queen. All trace of her excitement from before had disappeared. She had assumed an icy calm. But, as soon as her eyes landed on the guy, every part of the illusion shattered. Her resolve broke. She grinned wildly, squealed out “Rob!”, and rocked right out of her seat to wrap her arms around him in a hug.

  He picked her up, spun her around once, and set her down. “It’s good to see you, too,” he said as her feet touched the ground. I was sure the single spin hadn’t been enough to make her dizzy, but that was exactly how she looked. And all she could do was smile stupidly up at him.

  Without even asking for permission, he took her seat at the table, and patted his lap. Liz jumped onto him quickly, and draped her arms around his neck. Despite the intimacy, though, I could see some sort of… restraint… that she seemed to be fighting.

  “It’s good to see all of you, too,” he said to the table, eyeing each girl in turn. Then his eyes landed on me, and time seemed to stand still.

  I didn’t realize it before, but he had the clearest green eyes I had ever seen. Next to them, every other one of his features became completely secondary. He could have been fifty pounds overweight and balding, and those eyes would still have held anybody entranced. And that is how I felt at the moment. With those eyes, he seemed to peer right into my soul, past all the insecurities and all the pretensions. Somehow, he seemed to be looking right at me – the most unadulterated, most pure, most intimate and whole version of me I could ever imagine. His gaze aroused a version of me I didn’t even know existed. His eyes stood out against tanned, olive skin. Their effect on me only grew as the seconds slowly ticked past. I felt afraid and delighted, confident and uncertain, scared and elated, all at the same time. Abruptly, I became all too aware of all the other eyes on me. All the girls were staring, and Liz looked like she could have cut my throat right there.

  I cleared my throat uncomfortably and looked down. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. Even a memory of that gaze made me flustered. “What was that?” I asked softly. I seemed to remember that a question had been asked of me, vaguely, in those few moments that time stood still.

  “He asked,” Liz repeated, in a tight voice, “who the new girl was.” The way she said ‘new girl’ matched the way she had emphasized Chris’s name, earlier.

  “Oh. I’m Tracy,” I said shyly, only now daring to look back up. To my utter chagrin, the guy still hadn’t looked away. He seemed to be completely oblivious to all the other girls.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said slowly, and very smoothly. He extended his hand across the table, and I had no choice but to take it. His grip was strong, and felt a perfect complement to my own lackluster shake. “My name is Rob.”

  “Rob,” I repeated quietly, letting the name roll off my tongue. It was a simple name; a good name. For those few seconds he had looked at me, every worry in the world seemed to disappear from my mind. That was the only time I had ever felt so at ease. At the same time, it was the only time in recent memory I had felt so utterly discomfited. It was a crazy contrast, and one that made me feel completely unsure of what had happened. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this much in my own head.

  “Well, I’ve got to go catch my friends,” Rob said suddenly, standing up from the table and nearly dropping Liz in the process. “Liz, it was good to see you. Same for everyone else. And it was very good to meet you, Tracy.”

  I only looked up once I was sure he had left, but my estimate had been unfortunately off. In fact, the moment I raised my eyes was exactly the time Rob had decided to take one last glance over his shoulder, back at… back at me. As our eyes met again, he flashed me a knowing grin, and disappeared in the crowd.

  Instantly, I became aware of every girl’s eyes on me. None of them looked happy.

  “What was that?” Eve asked admonishingly. Six pairs of eyes dug into me. There was no doubting their intentions. Anger.

  “What was what?” I defended meekly, but I knew I was outmatched. Great. In less than a minute, I had completely blown all my chances of being friends with a group of girls who seemed to be at the center of social life here. At least, now I could make my own decisions about who to be friends with, I thought humorlessly.

  Liz stared at me in disbelief and opened her mouth to say something. But then she stopped, took a deep breath, and visibly tried to compose herself. It failed. “Listen,” she said with unconditional vehemence. “I know you’re new. I know you don’t know us yet, or our friends. That gives you one chance. And, when I first met you, you seemed to be pretty cool. That gives you a second chance. And while I want to be friends with you – I think we all do – there has to be a mutual understanding between us. And that understanding is this: If you ever do something like that again, we will all turn on you faster than you can believe. Got it? If you don’t watch your behavior in the future, all of us �
� all six of us – will work to make your entire stay at Oliver a living nightmare. Understand? So. It’s up to you. We can be either your best friends, or your absolute worst enemies. And trust me, you don’t want any of us as your enemies. Take this as your final warning: You will not—I repeat, not— ever speak to Rob by yourself again. Do I make myself clear?”

  I nodded weakly. It wasn’t fair. It’s not like I even did anything! But all these girls seemed to think I had. I barely even said a word to the guy. But, somehow, they had already decided I was a threat to Liz’s relationship with him! Whatever that relationship was – I was sure they weren’t girlfriend-boyfriend at this point, based least of all on what Liz told me during the walk to breakfast. She just seemed a ditzy, little girl, jumping all around him, trying to win his affections. But, then again, I admitted grudgingly, it’s not like I would act any differently, given the chance.

  “So?” Eve asked provocatively. “What’ll it be?”

  I looked at her, and forced a smile. “I don’t want to interfere,” I said genuinely. “And I do want to be friends with you guys. I’m sorry for what just happened. I’ll make sure it doesn’t occur again.”

  “Great!” Madison exclaimed, and the pressure seemed to disperse instantly. “We want to be friends with you, too.” All the other girls broke into smiles, nodding their heads and agreeing. Even Liz, who looked most reluctant, cracked a smile.

  “See that it doesn’t,” she said, “and you’ll have a great time here.”

  I walked back to the dorm by myself. All the other girls had decided to go hang out for a bit at the beach, and while they pressed me to come, I excused myself early. I had some things to think about.